Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Shares Sold by PDT Partners LLC

PDT Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 63.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,445 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 9,281 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC's holdings in Nova were worth $1,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Nova by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,411,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $474,980,000 after acquiring an additional 796,629 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Nova by 115.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $146,515,000 after purchasing an additional 353,906 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Nova by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 600,868 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $118,341,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in shares of Nova by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,383,339 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $272,517,000 after buying an additional 101,470 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nova by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,370,985 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $270,015,000 after buying an additional 97,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Stock Performance

Shares of NVMI stock traded up $6.53 on Friday, hitting $202.18. 134,448 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 224,296. Nova Ltd. has a twelve month low of $154.00 and a twelve month high of $289.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 35.22, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $197.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.70.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.04). Nova had a return on equity of 22.33% and a net margin of 27.33%. The firm had revenue of $194.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.50 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NVMI. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Benchmark increased their target price on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Nova from $310.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.60.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. designs, develops, produces, and sells process control systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors in Israel, Taiwan, the United States, China, Korea, and internationally. Its product portfolio includes a set of metrology platforms for dimensional, films, and materials and chemical metrology measurements for process control for various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, including lithography, etch, chemical mechanical planarization, deposition, electrochemical plating, and advanced packaging.